Rachel Reeves mocked as the ‘Peking Duck’ as economic turmoil grows

Rachel Reeves was mercilessly mocked as the “Peking Duck” in a brutal grilling by MPs amid mounting concern over economic turmoil.

The Chancellor was accused of dodging scrutiny after travelling to China as financial markets reached meltdown and Government borrowing costs soared.

She returned from her trip as concerns swirled that the Government is in danger of failing to meet its own fiscal rules and will need to take action to remain on track.

The accused her of having “fled” to the country amid market turmoil while the Liberal Democrats called on her to remain in the UK to announce a “plan B” to address the instability.

But Ms Reeves said agreements reached in Beijing, where she held discussions on trade and investment, would be worth £600 million to the UK over the next five years.

Answering questions in the Commons she told MPs: “I expressed our country’s real economic and trade concerns to the Chinese, including trade imbalances and economic security.

“And I raised concerns about ’s illegal war in , human rights, and restrictions on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, including the case of Jimmy Lai and the completely unjustified sanctions against British parliamentarians.

“A key outcome of this dialogue is that we have secured China’s commitment to improve existing channels so that we can openly discuss sensitive issues and the ways in which they impact our economy, because if we do not engage with China, we cannot raise our real concerns.

“This dialogue is just one part of our engagement with trading partners right across the world.”

“Not engaging is simply not an option,” Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs as she made a statement on her visit to China.

She said: “Growth is the number one mission of this Labour Government, and to grow the economy, we need to help Great British businesses export around the world, that includes to China. As the second biggest economy in the world and our fourth largest trading partner, not engaging is simply not an option.”

She added: “Because security and economic growth go hand in hand, this means finding the right way to build a stable and balanced relationship with China in our national interest, one that recognises the importance of cooperation in addressing the global issues we face, competing where our interests differ and challenging robustly whenever that is required.

“In Beijing and Shanghai, I was clear that whilst we must cooperate on areas of mutual interest, we will confidently challenge on areas where we disagree.”

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride laid out the economic and fiscal situation facing the Government on Rachel Reeves’ return from China.

He said: “I know that the Chancellor has been away, so let me update her on the mess that she left behind.

“The pound has hit a 14-month low, Government borrowing costs are at a 27-year high, growth has been killed stone dead, inflation is rising impacting millions, are staying higher for longer, and business confidence has fallen through the floor.

“The party opposite talked down the economy, they crippled businesses with colossal taxes breaking all their promises. This is a crisis made in Downing Street.”

Speculation about her position mounted on Monday after Sir said he had confidence in her but declined to confirm she would stay in Number 11 until the next general election when asked by journalists at a press conference in east London.

Downing Street later clarified Ms Reeves would remain in her role “for the whole of this Parliament”.

accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of ducking difficult question and refusing to “face up to her own failures”.

He told the Commons: “While the Government was losing control of the economy, where was the Chancellor? Her trip to China had not even begun when my urgent question was taken in the House last week, she was still in the country, but she sent the Chief Secretary rather than face up to her own failures.

“So can I ask why she chose not to respond herself? The Chancellor, of course, ducked the difficult questions by jetting off to Beijing. I believe that in Labour circles, they are calling it the Peking duck.”

Sir Keir was chairing a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday morning ahead of the Chancellor giving a statement on her visit to the Commons before taking questions likely to focus on Britain’s gloomy economic outlook.

In a post on social media on Tuesday morning, she said “engaging pragmatically with international partners” was key to the Government’s bid to drive growth.

“I will be updating Parliament on this engagement later today,” she said.

Ministers were offered some relief on Tuesday morning as the pound regained its footing after hitting fresh 14-month lows on Monday, while UK Government bonds recovered some lost ground after a recent heavy sell-off.

Sterling held firm at 1.22 US dollars in morning trading, having sunk to its lowest level since November 2023 in recent days.

Government borrowing costs showed signs of stabilising, with yields on 10-year UK Government bonds – also known as gilts – down three basis points at 4.86%.

The yield on 30-year gilts struck its highest level for 27 years on Monday, and 10-year yields rose to fresh highs not seen since 2008.

Yields are a key indicator of market confidence, moving inversely to bond prices.

They rise when investors are less willing to own the debt, meaning they will pay a lower price for the bonds.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said both the Prime Minister and Ms Reeves had “tied our hands unnecessarily” in their early economic decisions and the “strictures we placed upon ourself need to be re-examined.”

Mr McDonnell, a key figure in Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership who last year had the Labour whip withdrawn for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, said imposing cuts to balance the books would be “politically suicidal”.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The electorate have to be protected, otherwise I’m afraid we’re looking at a level of disillusionment which then turns people towards, unfortunately, Reform, and I think that would be a disaster for the country.”

The former frontbencher, who is on the Labour left, suggested the Government just has to “see through” the market turmoil, but he insisted a wider review of economic strategy is necessary including intervention from the Bank of England “if necessary”.

Labour had promised during the 2024 election campaign not to increase taxes on “working people”, explicitly ruling out a rise in income tax, VAT or national insurance.

Sir Keir has stressed the Government will meet its self-imposed “fiscal rules” – including requiring day-to-day spending to be met from revenues rather than further borrowing.

But meeting the rising cost of government borrowing eats into the funding available, which could force Ms Reeves to act to either reduce expenditure or hike taxes when the Budget watchdog gives its updated forecast in March.

The Prime Minister said the Government would be “ruthless” in its approach to public spending while Downing Street said “nothing is off the table” as departments consider where to cut spending.

Security minister Dan Jarvis defended the Chancellor as he faced broadcasters on the Tuesday morning media round, saying she is doing a “good job” in difficult circumstances inherited by the previous government.

“The Chancellor has been in China over the course of the weekend, I think that was the right thing for her to do and she’s getting on with doing a difficult job of delivering economic growth for the country,” he told Sky News.

“These are difficult economic headwinds that we’re dealing with at the moment, but I think she’s doing a good job and I think the Prime Minister thinks that as well.”

Shadow financial secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies denied the previous Tory government had left behind a “terrible situation” for the Chancellor and said she had “made it worse” with the autumn budget.

Asked whether he would accept that her economic inheritance was not good, he told Sky News: “It was a lot better than it is today.”

Mr Davies added: “She needs to urgently get a grip of this and make sure she can calm nerves. I understand she’s coming to the House today under the guise of an update on her visit to China but let’s be clear what this is about: this is about her having to come out to calm markets, calm nerves because it’s clearly very troubling out there.”